Running Back To You
by JMort124
Summary: Season 6 Finale Fic. (Contains spoilers) I took spoilers and some speculation about the S6 finale and just wrote this in about 3 days. This is my first fanfic, so don't expect much.


"Nick, don't you have a TV at the loft?" Schmidt said, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah but I forgot to pay the cable bill." He took a sip from his beer and gestured towards the television. "ESPN is re-airing the World Series and I wanted to watch the Cubs kick ass again."

"OK, just don't drink all my beer. Oh, and don't forget you have a meeting with that publisher at one. It wasn't easy for me to get you this meeting so you better not screw it up."

"I'll be there, Schmidt, stop worrying so much."

"I worry because I care, Nicholas," he exclaimed. "Anyway, I gotta go to the office now so make sure to lock all points of entry when you leave." He says walking out the door.

Walking into the loft, Jess headed straight for her room so as to avoid a certain someone. Setting her luggage down in her closet, and sitting down on the edge of her bed to catch her breath, she could feel herself starting to get shaky, her nerves getting the better of her. Jess hadn't talked to Nick since Socalyalcon and she didn't know how he was gonna react considering she fled to Portland and had been dodging his calls for the past few weeks.

Traveling had been pretty stressful so she figured maybe a cup of tea might help her relax a bit and get her head on straight before she talked to Nick. On her way to the kitchen, she saw Winston and Aly hanging out on the couch.

"Jess, you're back!" Aly proclaimed with a smile on her face. "How was Portland?"

"It was okay," she said, grabbing a mug from the cabinet. "Found out my dad divorced Ashley. I can't say I'm surprised."

"I'll never understand how that happened in the first place," Winston said. Getting off the couch and walking into the kitchen with Aly, they took a seat at the island.

Jess was sipping her tea and beginning to feel a little more relaxed. "So, what have you guys been up to since I left?" Jess asked. Winston and Aly glanced at each other for a second and Jess knew something was up. "What's going on you guys?"

Clearing his throat Winston started, "Aly and I are moving out of the loft." Jess looked at Winston with shock written all over her face. "We figured since we're engaged now we might want to live on our own, ya know? We can't live here forever."

"Well, that's great. I'm so happy for you guys!" Jess said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible.

"Thanks, Jess," Winston said getting up to give her a hug. "Alright, well, we gotta go finish packing up but I'm glad you're back," He said with a smile.

As Winston and Aly disappeared around the corner, Jess picked up her phone to text Cece.

 _Hey, I'm back at the loft, can you come over? I need someone to talk to._

 _Yeah, I'll be there as soon as I can, babe._

"So are you gonna tell him?" Cece asked.

"I don't know yet, Cece!" Jess let out a sigh. "I just...I don't want to lose him." Walking over to her closet, she started to unpack some of her luggage.

"Jess, you have to tell him at some point. If you don't tell him you'll never know how he feels."

"But if he doesn't feel the same way, I don't know if I'll ever be able to move on from that. He's my best friend, Cece, and I love him, I can't lose him!" She could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes. "I don't know what to do, Cece."

"Jess, you've gotta tell him. There's not a doubt in my mind that he feels the same way." Cece stood up and gave Jess a reassuring hug.

"You're right. I'm gonna tell him how I feel." She took a deep breath and sat down on her bed. If she didn't tell him she would always wonder 'what could have been?' She was afraid that if she told him that he would tell her he had moved on and that he didn't love her anymore. But if he did feel the same way she would be the happiest woman on earth. Everyone around her had been saying that Nick was still in love with her. She knew she had to tell but she didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them crushed.

"CECE!" Winston yelled from his bedroom.

"I better go help him," Cece said. "You can do this, Jess."

"Thanks." She said softly. As Cece walked out, Jess was left to her own thoughts.

As Jess started to think of how to tell Nick about her feelings, she was starting to believe that maybe she had a shot with him. He was always so sweet to her. Jess was who he went to when he wanted to talk, or when he wanted to go to the store or even just watch a movie. They were closer than they had been years. She started to feel more and more hopeful.

Jess was exhausted from traveling so as she laid back on her bed, she let her eyes fall shut and for the first time in awhile with hope in her heart, she let herself rest.

"Winston, why do you have a mug that says 'AssStrat'?" Aly questioned with a look of confusion, thinking it was an odd thing to have.

"Oh it's a mug from Schmidt's company, you can just toss it. Furguson got tired of it, I guess he wasn't _ass_ fond of it as I thought he was," He said winking at his unamused fiancé. Aly tossed the mug in the kitchen trash and wandered back to their room clearly not entertained by Winston's joke.

"Yeah you thought it was funny huh, Furgi?" he muttered to the cat in his lap that was now hissing at him."Of course you did, Furguson."

Jess had been pacing in her room for awhile, trying to piece together how she would tell Nick everything. They had been spending a lot more time together, which Jess had to admit she enjoyed but it was painful for her. She was starting to get to close to Nick again. The closer she got to him the more it hurt. Being the 'girlfriend without the rewards' wasn't working for her anymore. It was why she ran away to Portland. She had to get away from Nick to clear her head but it didn't help. She was completely and utterly in love with Nick Miller and there was no denying it.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard the loft door open. "Jess?" It was him."Hey, Jess are you home?" Trying to mentally prepare herself to see him, she cautiously opened the door.

The moment their eyes met her heart skipped a beat. "Hey, Jess," Nick exhaled. "Uh, Schmidt told me you'd be back today," He didn't even try to hide the smile on his face. This made the butterflies in Jess' stomach flutter.

"Oh, yeah, I got back couple hours ago," she said. Jess could feel his eyes boring into her. She felt the tension between them beginning to rise. Her mind went blank, seeing him was too much for her. Just as she was about to say something, he started.

"So Schmidt got me a meeting with a publisher," he said excitedly.

"Wow. That's awesome Nick!" Jess, beaming now, stepped away from her doorway.

"Oh do you have an extra copy of The Pepperwood Chronicles? I sold all of mine at Socalyalcon and I need one for my meeting."

"Um, yeah. It's just in my suitcase." She tried her best not to seem nervous. Jess hadn't seen or talked to Nick in weeks and forgot just how much he affected her.

"Awesome, well I have to leave for my meeting in a few minutes so just don't let me leave without it, 'kay?"

"Okay."

"Thanks, Jess. You're the best." he walked into his room, shutting the door, leaving Jess standing in the hallway.

She headed towards the kitchen when she was startled by Cece, who was sitting on the couch. "Hey, Cece! Oh my god, you scared me."

"Haha, sorry. You okay though? You seem a bit flustered."

"Uh...yeah, yeah, I'm fine... just seeing Nick...I guess I wasn't really ready to see him yet," she said quietly, hoping he wouldn't overhear.

"I can tell," Cece commented with a knowing smirk on her face. "So when will you be ready?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, he was obviously very happy to see you."

"Yeah, but maybe he was just being polite."

"Hah, no way Jess. He called you what? Fifty times while you were in Portland? And he never smiles like that for anyone else. He was definitely happy to see you."

Jess just stared at her friend trying to process everything. He did seem happy to see her, maybe he did feel the same way. Even so, she still wasn't ready to talk to him, it was too much just seeing him but actually having to admit her feelings to him. She knew she wasn't ready just yet.

Nick came out of his room in a hurry. He was wearing a nice plaid button up and a brown sports coat. "Alright, I gotta go. If I'm late Schmidt's gonna kill me."

"Oh wait, your book," Jess remembered, barely glancing at him. He looked way too good and she couldn't really handle that right now.

He stopped just before the front door. "Right."

Jess went into her room and shut the door. Reappearing a minute later she handed him the book. "Here."

"Thanks! I don't what I'd do without you," He said with a shy smile. At that, she froze. Hearing him say that to her filled her with hope again.

Jess let out a nervous laugh. "Uh...yeah, you're welcome," she avoided his gaze. She felt that if she looked him in the eyes she wouldn't be able to stop herself from jumping his bones. "Good luck," she mumbled, playing with the hem of her shirt. He was already out the door when she looked back up.

"I better get going too. I told Schmidt I'd bring him lunch," Cece said, as she stood up from the couch. "I'll see you later, Jess."

Jess was in the kitchen making herself a sandwich and had used up all the jam. When she went to throw away the jar she saw it. The sex-mug, _their_ sex-mug, in the trash. She took it out and just stared at it. That was when she started to doubt everything again, a million thoughts running through her head. _Had he really kept it all this time? Why did he throw it away? Had he finally moved on?_ She felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Running off to her room shutting the door and collapsing on the bed, she just held it there letting the tears fall.

There was no way Jess could talk to him. She wouldn't even be able to be in the same room as him without having a break down. Jess knew she had to do something about the situation. Sitting back up on her bed, sniffling and wiping away tears, she picked up her phone.

"Hey, Jess," Cece answered.

"Cece..." she paused for a moment before continuing. "I can't live here anymore. I'm moving out of the loft." The way she said it, Cece could tell she was serious.

"Woah, hang on a second, Jess. What happened? I thought you were gonna talk to Nick?" She was beginning to get impatient with her indecisive friend. "Have you even thought of where you're gonna go?"

"No, but I'm sure I'll find somewhere to go. All I know is that I need to get out of this damn loft."

"Okay, but why exactly have you made this decision so suddenly? Don't you think you should talk to Nick first?" Cece now sounding worried.

"No. I'm pretty sure he doesn't feel the same way anymore," Jess said with a clear sadness in her voice now.

"Why?"

"Remember that sex-mug I told you about?"

"Yeah?"

"I found it in the trash earlier. He threw it away, Cece. He's clearly moved on and wants to forget everything that happened between us," she started to cry again, her voice shaky now. "Cece, I just can't be here anymore. This loft has caused me nothing but heartbreak."

Jess could hear Cece sigh on the other end of the phone. "Alright, babe." She was more understanding now. "You gotta do what's best for you. If you think moving is gonna make you happy, I support you one hundred percent."

Nick was sitting in the waiting room of the publisher's office staring at the book in his lap. He couldn't get his mind off Jess. He had noticed how she acted weird around him. Jess had been avoiding him after their conversation about her doing all the girlfriend stuff. He assumed she was mad at him for some reason, but she never seemed angry at him. All he knew was there was something going on with Jess. He just didn't know what.

His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the woman at the front desk. "Nick Miller?" He hesitated a moment before realizing what she had said.

"Oh, that's me!"

"He's ready for you."

"Thanks," He responded.

As he stood up, he felt his legs get shaky. He was terrible at these kinds of things. He slowly his way to the door, trying not to fall over as he had become dizzy.

He opened the door and saw an older fellow stand up from his place at the desk and extend a hand. Nick made his way over and shook the man's hand firmly. The man was wearing a purple button up and a leather jacket. "Beezus is the name," the man said, gesturing towards the chairs in front of the desk. "Have a seat."

As they both began to sit down the man started again. "So, you wrote 'The Pepperwood Chronicles'?"

"Yes, sir," Nick answered, glancing down at the book in his hands.

"Well I got to say, I'm very impressed."

"Oh, well thank you!" Nick said, now smiling but with his nerves still making him perspire.

"Julius is a very interesting character with a lot of depth. Very tough, smart, witty and thinks outside the box. I think what's really gonna sell this book though, is the love story."

Although it wasn't Nick's favorite part of the book, he had come to accept it was what most people loved about The Pepperwood Chronicles. He hadn't really been sure why.

Then it hit him. Jess. It was _their_ love story. How could people not love that? He was so ridiculously in love with her that every time he talked about his relationship with her he made it sound like it was the greatest thing in the world because to him it was. How had he not seen it before? The part about shed, the fish morgue, the market. All of it had to do with Jess in some way or another. Nick had been so distracted by his own realization he hadn't noticed the man was still talking.

"...so I think we could do a trial basis. We'll order a thousand copies of the book and distribute them to a few book stores in the area and see how well it sells. What do you think?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that sounds good," Nick replied, trying to shake himself out of his thoughts.

"Great! Are there any final changes you'd like to make to the book?"

"Um..." Nick opened the book and saw a note from Jess on the inside.

 _I believe in you._

 _-Jess_

Then it all made sense to him. Jess had started acting weird around him the moment he decided to go to New Orleans with Reagan. She had been weird around him when he got back, like when he asked if Reagan could move in, and when he asked for her help talking to Reagan. And yet she still helped him with all of it. It hit him like a ton of bricks. Jess was still in love with him.

Nicks phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out to check it. It was a message from Cece.

 _Jess is moving. You need to talk to her._

Nicks heart sunk in his chest. He knew he had to talk to her. This couldn't wait.

"I'm so sorry about this but I have to go," Nick said, standing up from his chair and running out the door, leaving the man shocked and confused.

Nick sprinted out of the building and ran to his car. He didn't care that he might have screwed up his one chance at getting his book published. He had to see Jess. He couldn't lose her, not again.

"This place looks good. What do you think, Jess?" Cece asked, turning the laptop towards Jess who was beside her on the couch.

"Oh, I like it," Jess said, seeming somewhat disinterested as she was distracted by the mug she was turning over in her hands.

"Okay, that's enough," Cece exclaimed, setting the laptop on the coffee table and getting off the couch, dragging Jess up with her.

"Cece, what the hell?"

"Nope, you're not moping around anymore," she demanded, taking the mug from her hands and slamming it on the coffee table. "You're gonna go look at this apartment, now!"

Pushing Jess towards the door and grabbing her purse, Cece put it in her hands. "Go!"

"But Cece-"

"Nope," she opened the door and gave her a smile as she gave her one more nudge out the door.

Nick jumped out of his car already in a full sprint down the sidewalk. He stopped for a few seconds to catch his breath. "Man, I am really out of shape. No more sheet cake for me," he said, as he laughed to himself. Immediately, he resumed what seemed to be the longest sprint of his life. Just as he got to the loft building, he stopped for a moment to try and calm his nerves. He couldn't wait any more. He had to see her. As Nick entered the loft building, he felt more confident than ever. He made his way over to the elevator just as it made that all too familiar _ding._

Jess stood outside the door of the loft, not exactly sure where she was supposed to go but she didn't really care. Everything that happened recently had completely drained her emotionally. So she decided to go for a walk to try and clear her head, and forget about everything for a bit. She made her way over to the elevator and pressed the button to call it up, swinging her purse over her shoulder as it arrived. As she stepped onto the elevator she selected the first floor. As she rode down in the elevator she began to feel the weight of everything hit her all at once. She wasn't able to stop the tears from falling. When the elevator reached its destination it stopped, and it made that all too familiar _ding._

The doors opened and when she saw him standing there her eyes went wide. They both just stood there for a moment staring at each other. Jess saw something in Nick's face she hadn't seen in a long time. Determination.

"Hey, Miller," she said with a shy smile.

"Hey," he said softly. Nick started to approach her slowly with an intense look in eyes.

"Look, Nick," she looked down at her feet, unable to look him in the eye, "I've been meaning to tell you something." But as she looked back up with a tear on her cheek, he was right in front her. He grabbed her face and crashed his lips onto her hers. In that moment it was as if she had seen through space and time all over again. He broke away from the passionate kiss after a moment, and wiped the tear from her face.

"I love you, Jess," he sighed.

She let out a small laugh before she responded. "I love you too." Wrapping her arms around his neck, she brought her lips to his again. Nick wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, never wanting to let her go.


End file.
